Fellowships & Internships

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The Paul and Priscilla Gray Internship application

Announcements

  • Applications for summer Internships are due Thursday, March 21 at noon.
  • Applications for spring Internships are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Important: If your Internship involves research such as surveys, tests, observation of public behavior, or the study of instructional strategies, then read and act on this.

Before beginning your application, please carefully review the program overview and information on eligibility, timeline and the selection process at http://web.mit.edu/mitpsc/whatwedo/internshipsandfellowships/index.html

Proceed with this application only if you can answer yes to each of the following questions:

Application Timeline

Thursday, March 21, noon Deadline for submitting applications
Wednesday, April 3 Invitations to interview sent out
April 4-5, 8-12 Interviews
Wednesday, April 17 Offers emailed to successful applicants
Monday, April 29 Deadline for submitting required paperwork and contact information

Application Checklist

We need a complete application packet to consider you for an Internship, so please make sure we receive all of the following application materials:

Save and attach your proposal and resume files using the naming formula fullname_proposal and fullname_resume. For instance, John Doe’s documents would be named johndoe_proposal.doc and johndoe_resume.doc.

Please Read Before Writing Your Application:
Be specific in your application. Don’t just tell us what you are going to achieve – show us how you’re going to do it. There are suggested limits on your answer length, so make each word count.  Provide concrete examples and clear connections between your work plan and your goals. And remember, we are probably not be technical experts in your field, so write in clear language anyone would be able to understand.

(length limits are suggestions)

Project abstract

200 words
Summarize your internship plans. Be clear, specific, and jargon-free. Pretend that a friend who knows little about your project asks you to explain your proposed work. How would you describe it to them? Include the name of the organization with which you will be interning and its location (specifically country, state, village, etc). How much funding are you requesting from the PSC?

Organizational and community needs

Half a page
Briefly describe the organization with which you will be interning (i.e. size and scope of the organization, mission, goals, etc.). Describe the community need that the organization addresses and explain why it’s significant. How does the organization address the needs of the community? What do you think are the biggest opportunities and challenges for the organization in which you will be doing work? Tell us about the lives of the people who will benefit from your service. Keep in mind that we (the readers) may not know the population and location you are serving so help us to understand the need for your project work within your chosen organization.

Supervisor

Half a page
Who is your intended supervisor and what is his/her position (and role) within the organization? Describe his/her role in your project. What support will you need from your supervisor?

Work plan

1 page
Essentially, this is your plan of attack. Imagine you are describing your work plan to someone who needs to implement it without you. What work will the organization be assigning to you? How do you anticipate being able to build capacity for the organization or community during your internship? What are your goals? What steps will you need to take and in what sequence in order to accomplish those goals? How will you evaluate your success in meeting your goals? What preparation do you need to do? Roughly, how will your time be organized and spent? How long will the internship be, and how many hours a week do you expect to work? (Please estimate the time you will spend on each of the major project components.) Describe your plan primarily in words, not charts.

Include the length of time you plan on spending on your project at the location specified, in terms of number of weeks. Will you be working part-time or full-time and how will this shape your work plan?

If you are applying with other people, outline each person’s role in the project and how you will work together.

Community impact

Half a page
As specifically as possible, describe the impact you intend your project to have on the community. How will the community be different because of your work? What are the sustainable benefits of your project? Who will benefit?

Arrangements

1 paragraph
Describe your internship arrangements. Where will you live? Where will you work? How will you get to your internship each day?

Qualifications

Half a page
What skills and experiences will make you an asset for this organization? Describe what you would bring to the organization in terms of directly applicable skills, knowledge, first-hand experience, job experience, hobbies, etc. What, if any, courses have you taken will provide particular background for your project (4 courses max)? We will also read your resume, but we want you to explain how your skills will help you to do the proposed work.

Language fluency

List the languages you know that may help you in the community you will be serving. Give the skill level (fluent/intermediate/beginner) for both written and oral competencies for each language you list.

Teamwork

Half a page, if relevant
If you will be working with other people on this project, list each team member and their MIT affiliation (if any) even if the other people are not applying for an Internship  through the PSC. If any of the team members are applying for a Paul and Priscilla Gray Internship or other PSC funding, indicate this.

Describe each person’s roles and responsibilities. How will your jobs intersect and support each other? Would you consider doing the project if not all members of the team receive funding? Tell us what sort of role you prefer to take in a team, and what sort of people you do and do not enjoy working with on a team. 

Note: If you are applying with other people for a group Internship, each group member MUST write and submit individual applications. We will not accept group Internship applications that include text that has been "cut and pasted" from one application to another. Please note that the selection committee will award Internships based on applicants' individual merits, so there is no guarantee that people who apply together will be selected together.

Personal outcomes and motivation

Half a page
In addition to serving the community, Paul and Priscilla Gray Internships are intended to help MIT students explore public service career possibilities and/or to gain experience for developing intensive service projects in the future. Explain why this project is necessary for your career exploration and/or service project development. What are your personal expectations and goals for this internship? What do you want to learn or experience? What else motivates you to do this internship?

Personality type

Paragraph
Tell us briefly about your own personality. How would others describe you? How does your personality suit you to the work you are proposing? If you are planning to work in a group, how would you describe your ability to work with the other people in the group?

Safety and cultural impact

1 page
Outline your safety considerations for the project. What are the main safety issues in the location you will be working in? What steps will you take to prioritize your safety and what resources have you identified to help you stay safe? Does your project have any safety implications for the community you are serving and how will you address these?

If you are planning a project in a relatively high-risk location, you will need a particularly strong safety plan and work plan.

Help us to understand how the cultural context will affect your project. Tell us about any experience you have living and/or working with other cultures. How might you prepare yourself for living in the cultural context relevant to the project you are applying for?

Funding

Include a project budget explaining:

  1. What you need funding for (include any taxes)
  2. How much each item will cost
  3. What funds you have for the project so far (including your own money if you can contribute any), other sources you have applied for and intend to apply for, and how much you are requesting from the PSC. If any of these funds can only be spent on certain types of expenses, note this.

If you receive funding from other sources after applying to the Fellowships program, we require that you notify us of this and we may make appropriate funding modifications in consultation with you.

Internship funding is intended primarily for living and travel expenses.

Letter of commitment from supervisor

Email, fax or hard copy
The letter of commitment from your supervisor must confirm that the organization has offered you a position as an intern. This letter should outline the duties and responsibilities of your internship, show the supervisor’s commitment to supporting you, and should describe the support the organization will offer you. Click here for the Letter of Commitment information and format we would like your supervisor to follow.

Letter of recommendation from MIT faculty or staff member

Email, fax or hard copy
The letter of recommendation must be from an MIT faculty or staff member (professor, advisor, coach, work supervisor). This person should be in a position to vouch for your achievements, abilities, character, and motivation. Their comments must be pertinent to your ability to carry out the project(s) you are applying for, so you must provide your reference with at least your project abstract well in advance of the deadline. The more information you can provide the better. Click here for the Letter of Recommendation [link here]  information and format we would like your recommender to follow.

All letters should be directed to Alison Hynd. The recommendations are confidential – your recommender may choose to send you a copy, but you should not request one. Emailed recommendations must be sent directly to psc-internships-staff@mit.edu, faxes to 617-258-9357. Hardcopy letters should be marked “Internship recommendation” and sent to Room 4-104, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. We do not need hardcopies of recommendations that have been sent by email.)

Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects

If your Internship involves human subjects research such as surveys, tests, observation of public behavior, or the study of instructional strategies, and you expect to use the data in MIT research or you are collecting data for your own research in parallel to the work you are doing for your internships organization, then you must apply for approval from the Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects (COUHES) and complete an online human subjects training course. Visit http://web.mit.edu/committees/couhes for details.

If you will be conducting research of this type exclusively for a non-MIT agency and do not expect to bring the data back to MIT or use it in your future research, then you do not need to apply for COUHES approval.

Service projects typically fall into the “exempt” category, which requires COUHES approval and passing the online course, but is a relatively fast and straightforward process. However, you should start working on this soon!

Note that the Internships Administrator, Alison Hynd, is authorized to sign exempt forms for Interns as the “Faculty Sponsor.” In contexts where it’s not realistic for community partners involved in the research to take the online training or equivalent, then you may instead propose a training session to ensure your community partners understand the fundamentals of ethical research with human subjects.

Don’t worry – we can help with all this!